Most healthcare consumers have local healthcare providers that they regularly use for obtaining healthcare services in and/or around their city of residence. Typically, healthcare consumers know where these local provider's offices/facilities are located along with various other information about a given local healthcare provider such as, but not limited to: whether the healthcare provider is in the healthcare consumer's healthcare insurance plan network and/or program, i.e., is a preferred provider for the healthcare consumer's healthcare insurance plan network and/or program; how much the healthcare provider charges; contact information for the healthcare provider such as phone number and address; the types of services provided by the healthcare provider; the fastest way to get to the healthcare provider's office/facilities; and, in many cases, how long the average wait time is for a given healthcare provider.
While the situation described above works quite well for healthcare consumers needing healthcare services in their local area from healthcare providers they regularly use, there are many instances where a healthcare consumer may need a healthcare provider other than their familiar local area healthcare providers. For instance, an injury or illness may occur while away from home. Likewise, prescriptions, medications and equipment may be needed while the healthcare consumer is away from home. In addition, a healthcare consumer may need to know the closest healthcare provider to the healthcare consumer's present location that can address the healthcare consumer's specific need, i.e., a specialist not normally or previously used by the healthcare consumer such as an allergist, surgeon, physical therapist, or other medical and/or therapy specialist. As another example, a healthcare provider may move, or retire, or a healthcare consumer may change healthcare insurance plans/networks. In any of these cases, the healthcare consumer may need to find new healthcare providers even in their area of residence.
In addition to wishing to obtain relatively immediate information about healthcare providers in, or around, a specific location, in many instances, healthcare consumers would like know the availability of appointments with a given healthcare provider and/or the wait time at a given healthcare provider's office between the scheduled appointment times and the times when patients are actually being seen.
In short, in many, if not most, instances, a healthcare consumer would like to know not only the closest healthcare provider in terms of time and/or distance, but also the healthcare provider that has the soonest available appointment and/or the shortest wait time in order to choose the healthcare provider offering the quickest opportunity for the healthcare consumer to actually receive healthcare services.